Because Love Stories Aren't Really Love Stories
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: M&MWP. My 300th fic & the 1st DOMINIQUE/REGULUS! AU. "We must have old memories & young hopes." - Chinese fortune cookie. For MORGHEN. Mention if used, thx. Ch5 is up. DW/RAB, GWP/SB, RL/LLP, BW/FDW, VW/NL, etc. T only for some language.
1. The Innocence

**Because Love Stories Aren't Really Love Stories**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

Note for **all** chapters: The _Harry Potter_ characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. **This pairing was discovered by me, so please gimme a little mention if you write them**! **Thanks**! It is one of many of **Mew and Mor's Weird Pairings**, which you may find in Mor's and my forum, "Mew and Mor's Weird Pairings Fan Stories," found here (Just take out the spaces!): **http : / forum. fanfiction. net/ forum /Mew_and_Mors_Weird_Pairings_Fan_Stories /76194 /** Read, review, and enjoy! And check out and join the forum FUN!

This is my _**300**__**th**_ fanfic! 8D W00t! Now if only I could finish the other multi-chaptered fics… -.-; Anyway, the most important thing I say here is that **this story is for my FFN twin, ****Morghen**! Because she knows why Dom gets Reggie. She just knows. ;)

- ^-^3

Part 1: The Innocence

Dominique Weasley cupped her cheek in her palm and leaned forward on the railing. She watched her younger brother, Louis, fly around on the makeshift Quidditch pitch he and his buddies had made from the deserted field on the outskirts of the Muggle town near their home, Shell Cottage. She narrowed her hazel eyes and frowned.

"He's not very good as a Seeker," a voice said beside her.

The witch jolted slightly and turned. A man perhaps twice her age—well, he looked that way, anyway—had his eyes focused on the sky. His eyes were the color of dark, cold stone, and they flitted with seasoned concentration. "You've spotted the Snitch already," she reasoned.

The stranger grimly smiled before slowly taking his gaze away from the game to glance at her. He pushed his scraggly black hair away from his face, and Dominique wondered if her were clean-shaven or if the bristles had been scared right off his face. He looked as though he'd seen great horrors in his lifetime.

"You're rather snooty to have remarked on him without knowing him or me," Dominique chided.

"I take it you're his sister?"

She blinked. "How'd you—"

"I have an older brother myself," he replied softly. His tone grew ominous and his entire demeanor shifted as soon as the word "brother" left his mouth. He seemed as though he'd just come across a large brick wall obstructing his path, and he didn't look happy about it.

Dominique didn't comment, for she felt the same way sometimes, often finding a foreboding benchmark for obedience in her "perfect" older sister, Victoire.

"You play?" the blonde witch inquired, turning back to their previous topic.

The stranger relaxed some. "Once. It seems like a lifetime ago…"

"Me, too," Dominique offered with a grin. She gripped the railing and hung on as she leaned back. "Being a Seeker is the best. You fly with only one restriction, to catch the Snitch."

"Yes. It's something that's definitely within your grasp…" The wizard looked at his pale, empty palm and clenched it into a fist, quite as though he were reaching for something that wasn't there. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a brief moment before taking a deep breath and looking at her again.

"What's your name?" Dominique asked casually, seeing as they had started up something of a chat.

"Isn't it improper to ask without giving your own first?" Though his remark could've been said with a smirk, Dominique found his small, halfhearted smile suited his words. "Good day, miss," he stated politely, excusing himself from any further interaction. With those simple words, he left and Dominique thought nothing more of him.

Instead, Dominique returned her attention to Louis' Quidditch game and cursed under her breath. "Holy Helga, Louis, you'd make a better Chaser…"

- ^-^3

"Dominique, dinner's ready!"

The blonde witch rolled her eyes and grumbled as she put her parakeet back in her cage and put her plans away. She had only just stopped working on the papers for her internship at Beauxbatons under Madame Maxime to give her bird, Arwen, some free time out of the cage. And already Louis and their father, Bill, were hollering at her. Did no one simply knock anymore?

"I'll be right there!" she called downstairs. She stood, gave Arwen a treat, and gathered together the strewn parchments on her desk. Good Merlin, if she were to be the next headmistress of Beauxbatons, then she'd have to learn some proper organizational skills soon!

At the dinner table, her mother, Fleur, dished up the food and Bill poured drinks. Victoire and her new husband, Neville, would not be joining them tonight; they'd been married for a little while now, but Fleur and Bill were still a bit uncomfortable with the situation, so tonight was just the family of four.

Fleur beamed at her second-oldest child. "So, you will go off to Beauxbatons next month. Are you excited?"

"I am," Dominique answered carefully, "but I'm also very nervous. I'm a little unsure of myself… Surely Madame Maxime had some better candidates than me?"

"_Non_!" Fleur admonished. "My—er, 'ow do you say—alma mater eez a top school and only picks ze top witches and wizairds around. Dominique, you are ze wisest choice Madame Maxime could 'ave picked."

"And your French is very good," Bill commented. "You'll be fine on your own there, Dom. Even still, you won't really be on your own. Besides, you've still a month at home. Let the excitement come later. Enjoy your time with us for now."

Louis snorted. "What Dad's not saying is that he wants you to say and never go. You know Dad—he's way too sentimental."

"Hey!"

Dominique smiled, some of her worry assuaged. "Well, I'm looking forward to the new experience."

"Speaking of which," Fleur said after a sip of her wine, "per'aps we ought to go into London? Pick up a few new things for you? You will want to look your best at Beauxbatons, even if this eez just an internship."

Bill groaned, making Dominique laugh. "Yeah, a shopping trip might be nice. And don't worry, Dad. I promise I won't make my last days at home 'exciting' by wiping out our Gringotts account."

- ^-^3

Fleur tutted as Dominique eyed a pair of leather boots the following weekend in London. They were passing through some Muggle clothing stores on their way to Diagon Alley, and Dominique was showing her father in her by expressing her desire for the boots.

"You will not need boots for ze wezzer at Beauxbatons," the part-Veela mother stated. "Eet eez lovely zair, and you would do well wizz a good pair of 'eels on your pretty leetle feet."

Dominique shrugged. "I like heels well enough, but the boots—they remind me of the Quidditch pitch."

"You do realize zair eez no Quidditch at Beauxbatons, yes?" Fleur gave her daughter a sympathetic smile, since she knew Dominique loved flying.

"I know, I know… Let's head into Diagon Alley now."

The witches used the entrance from the Leaky Cauldron. Fleur stepped carefully inside the tavern, for she had never really liked the place. Dominique complained about stopping for a bite to eat, as they'd been walking across nearly all of London the whole morning. "We'll eat something aftair we are done, Dominique."

"Then you go on ahead. I'll—" Dominique stopped midsentence. Had she…? "Um, I need to use the loo… I'll join up with you later, Mum."

"Oh, Dominique… Pleez do. And when you do, we will work on your language. Certainly Madame Maxime does not want to hear 'loo' in her presence… _Mon dieu_…" She left through the back without a second thought, and Dominique went to the bar.

"One butterbeer," Dominique told Tom the barkeep. She glanced to her right and sat down. When Tom placed the drink down, she sipped it. She glanced again to her right, and the wizard sitting there stared at her until realization dawned on his face.

"The Quidditch miss," the stranger said.

Dominique had no doubt that this was the same man from before. She found it odd that she would've remembered him at all upon seeing him again, as she'd all but completely forgotten meeting him that time at Louis' little game. But she couldn't shake the feeling that seeing him again was…nice.

He finished his drink and placed the mug back on the counter, but he made no signs to hop up and scurry away. "Only a butterbeer?"

"I don't really like the taste of firewhiskey," she admitted. She bit her lip. "Um… Oh! I never did say—I'm Dominique. Dominique Weasley." She pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, waiting for him to give the obvious response.

"Reg," came his low, slow response. He stuck out his hand, though, and she shook it. His hand was warm, despite looking cold and stone white. It was definitely real, though; he was no phantom spiriting through.

She furrowed her brow. "So, uhh…do you live around here?"

"Something like that." Reg tied his hair back with a strip of leather and placed some Sickles on the counter. "Here. This will cover your drink, too."

"You didn't have to—I mean, we barely know—"

"You said 'Weasley,' correct? You're the closest thing to a pureblood anymore," he added as an afterthought. He gave her a small smile and began to leave.

"W-Wait!" Dominique scrambled to put a coherent sentence together. "A-Are you staying for the summer?"

Reg's smile deepened, but Dominique felt there was some inside joke behind it. He tipped his head to her and exited, and she was alone once more…but she would not be forgetting him this time around.

- ^-^3

**Hmm. This is so odd but fun. I can't wait to see how the other chapters turn out, though I certainly know where this is going. Oh, and it should be noted that Victoire/Neville is also a ****Mew & Mor Weird Pairing****, and I'd appreciate a little mention if you use them, thanks.**

**Most importantly…you enjoying this, Mor? ;DDD**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**

**-mew-tsubaki :)**


	2. The Request

**Because Love Stories Aren't Really Love Stories**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

- ^-^3

Part 2: The Request

Perhaps it was the nagging voice in the back of her brain that kept telling Dominique in her father's voice to enjoy a _quiet_ summer. That thought spun round and round in her head, but it could not defeat the curiosity she had from meeting Reg and seeing him again. He was so quiet and mysterious and stern yet…_kind_. Yes, she hadn't much experience with him, but Dominique felt she could just read that from him. He was a kind person, someone who might do the wrong things for the right reasons and everything turns out okay in the end. Yet maybe not everything had turned out okay for _him_ personally.

"…can conclude that—sheesh, you're not even listening, Dominique."

Dom blinked at her cousin, Rose, and gave the redhead a small smile. "Well, I _partially_ was."

"Dominique, we've been out of school for a year and you'll be nineteen soon. You'll be going to France—"

"And you'll be travelling the world with Lorcan."

Rose blushed. "I've decided to become a Healer like him. It—It just works out that I'm dating him and could gain the experience…"

"Experience. _Riiight_." Dominique snickered and Rose hit her in the arm with her folded up sweater.

"Ugh, just focus!" Rose paused. "You know, for such a popular witch, mum's been the word on your love life." She quirked an eyebrow.

"I was popular in school, Rosie. That doesn't necessarily translate equally in the real world."

"Still… _No_ one new in your life?"

"No one."

"And you'd tell me, right?"

"Rose, you're as close to me as anyone can get without being my sister. I'd tell you."

"All right… Then can we make some plans for your first break?"

"Of course." Dominique grinned as Rose opened up her schedule and the two girls sat together, daydreaming of their lives to come. And yet…Dominique's mind was elsewhere, wondering about someone else's life and past, and what _his_ plans were.

- ^-^3

The blonde Weasley tried sticking around home as her parents asked, but oftentimes Dominique used the excuse that her feet led her around the area. It was not as though their community was a particularly dangerous one, so Dominique should be fine with her wand hidden in the sleeve of her thin sweater.

Around the edge of the forest separating the beach and the town, Dominique looked around before climbing one of the trees. Sure, she was older and could make decisions for herself, but she knew her mother would kill her if she saw her up in the tree. Her dad…well, her dad would smile with a bit of pride. Dominique really took after Bill.

She sat in the tree and watched the clouds darken the sky. Below, a little closer to the town, Dominique heard footsteps.

"Are you part dryad?"

Dominique blinked. She'd barely heard his voice before, but…yes. Here he was. He actually was standing closer now, his hands on his hips, looking up at her with a confused look on his face. She blushed. "Er, no, haha… I was just…"

"Being a tomboy."

"Yeah. Kinda." Dominique grabbed a lower branch and swung down. She stumbled a bit on her landing, and Reg steadied her, holding her harms with a gentle firmness. Her face grew hot at his touch and she mentally slapped herself. How could she act like this around him? It was hard to keep reminding herself that she really knew nothing about him.

"The rain will be coming soon," Reg observed, staring up at the sky as she just had.

Dominique shivered involuntarily. "I know. I can feel it."

He paused. "I'm sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No, no, it's not you at all! It's just—just a case of jitters and shivers. I don't like the rain very much."

"Me neither." He shifted those gray eyes on her. "Shall we find a place? Get out of the oncoming weather, maybe get a drink."

Dominique nodded. "I'd like that very much." She followed him at an almost-jog, for as tall as she was, he was a little taller, and his legs were much longer. His strides carried him far in little movement, but his upper half was sturdy and strong, despite his waiflike gait. Dominique thought he looked surprisingly intimidating, regal, almost.

He held the door open for her, and they entered a little café, Doves' Sky. He instinctively grabbed a table in the corner, where they were out of the way and nearly out of sight. Dominique pondered why he acted as though he were a wanted criminal…though it did occur to her that he _could_ be one.

"So…you seem to like this part of England?"

"Hmm?" He hadn't been paying attention to her. Perhaps he'd been lost in his own thoughts.

"I said that you like this part of England."

He eyed her a moment. "What makes you say that?" No accusation, no needling—he was just curious about her comment.

"Well, this is the third time I've seen you around." She paused, recalling something from their previous encounter. "You know your pureblood history, too, picking up on my surname."

His face showed he wasn't going to take her bait and converse about things he knew. "You can get a piece of cake or something, if you'd like."

Dominique allowed his change of subject. "That's nice, but I don't really have a sweet tooth. Tea or the like's just fine, Reg."

Reg visibly relaxed. "Oh. …good. I don't really like sweets either."

Dominique tittered. "So besides Quidditch and no sweets, what else do we share?"

The witch thought that was the best phrasing, for Reg took the friendly invitation not to chat about himself but talk about nearly anything else under the sun. His comments were terse, yes, but he did not deny Dominique her interruptions. In fact, he almost seemed to welcome them, and he looked the uptight kind who would normally refuse that.

When the skies cleared, Reg gestured to the good weather. He paid for them both—he didn't even listen when Dominique tried to put some money down, despite not having Muggle money—and walked her outside. It was different to see him in bright, radiant sunshine; all the other times Dominique had seen him, he'd looked gaunt and half-dead. But in the sunlight, he truly looked like an older prince. Maybe her eyes had just been playing tricks on her before.

"Well, I must go," Reg said softly. His eyes dropped to her hand before he gently tugged on it and kissed the back. His smile was as sweet and forlorn as ever. "Have a good summer, Miss Weasley."

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow, too."

For the first time, she heard a true albeit quiet chuckle emerge from him. "Determined, are you?"

"I doubt this is the last I'll see of you, after three encounters." Dominique looked at him, praying she didn't look too hopeful. "…right?"

"…maybe." Reg tipped his head to her and backed away. He Disapparated and Dominique fidgeted where she stood.

Great. For having an afternoon with him, she'd gotten nowhere—nowhere at all.

- ^-^3

Yet that little café date had been floodgates opening. Dominique's eyes were definitely not playing tricks on her this time, for—after their drink at Doves' Sky—Reg did seem to pop up _everywhere_ as Dominique had—had—well, hoped. She was inexplicably drawn to this charming man, despite the aura he gave off that screamed no one ought to get close to him.

And their subsequent café dates _did_ open up more about Reg. His favorite color was silver and he hated the Chudley Cannons. He couldn't stand treacle tart and, above all, he hated verbal magic. Dominique made a mental note to practice her non-verbal magic skills.

There were things Dominique learned, too, that came from her watching him, not from listening to him. His hair stayed shoulder-length; whether he cut it himself or had someone else do it was beyond her, though. He always gripped his glass for dear life when he drank, and he ate holding his utensils as though he belonged to the upper class. He never walked with hesitation, and Dominique came to expect that he'd answer her questions with another question half the time.

Two weeks of meeting and walking and dining and talking passed by before the witch even knew it, and she grew more and more anxious that she would have to leave for France before Reg opened up completely to her and/or left once he got what he'd come for in England. He was certainly not the type to have roots in any one place. If she so much as blinked the other way, Reg was likely to disappear in a wisp of smoke.

_You care too much_, Dominique's conscience nagged her. She hated hearing that fact so much, because she knew that—as much as she'd come to learn of her new companion—she still knew so little about him.

But… But…

But he was _Reg_, and he was a curious man with a sharp, concise tongue and an even sharper mind and his sense of self made Dominique so envious. She wanted to lag behind and learn more of him. If she did, maybe they could be a little closer…

Dominique had never before wanted to be so close to another human being in all her life.

And she wondered if maybe Reg sensed her attraction to him, because she'd taken to sitting in the café booth on one side with him, holding lightly on to his arm and resting her head on his shoulder…yet he never pushed her away. At first he'd looked a little uncomfortable, but then he'd gotten used to it. Dominique doubted he would've let anyone else be so touchy-feely with him, but she'd begun wondering just how long it'd been since Reg had had someone to trust, _truly_ trust. …she wished she could be that person for him, and hoped she showed that plainly in how they interacted.

- ^-^3

"You'll be leaving soon, won't you?"

Dominique looked up from the café table and eyed Reg's strong profile. "Yes," she answered. "I have to start under Madame Maxime soon…"

"Good for you, Miss Weasley."

"When are you going to call me 'Dominique'?"

"Maybe when you return from France."

She paused. "You won't wait that long."

"…maybe not." He gave her a sad smile. "And I can't say I can stay long today, either."

Dominique nodded. "I know, I know. You've your secretive little business to go about." She sat up and leaned back against the booth. "I'm not keeping you here."

"Hey." He turned her chin towards him and Dominique's pulse sped up, but Reg only looked in her eyes before dropping his hand as though something had burned him. "Please don't think you're weighing me down. It's…It's nice to have a…" He seemed to scramble for the right word. "It's nice to have a friend again."

"A friend…right." Dominique grinned. "Well, mate, get going! We still plan to meet tomorrow, don't we?"

Reg gave her an earnest look and got up. He left and she watched his back as had become the norm.

Honestly, Dominique wished that wasn't the norm. All these days she'd come to like him more and more and she truly wished she could extend her vacation just a little bit more. But she knew that was impossible. Just as Reg had his responsibilities, she had hers.

But her mind was becoming muddled with the activities of late, so Dominique decided to visit her Aunt Ginny in the hopes of clearing up her mind a bit. Aunt Ginny kinda thought like a guy, but with a woman's touch; she was a tomboy just like Dominique, and Dom had always felt a closeness to her. That's why it made sense for Dominique to make a little trip in her last week at home to Twelve Grimmauld Place where Aunt Ginny and Uncle Sirius lived.

She had almost made it to their street when a darkly cloaked figure caught her eye, and Dominique gasped, halting in the middle of the street. A car slammed on its brakes and the figure—_Reg_—grabbed her and hauled her out of the way.

"_What_ are you doing here?" she hissed at him, more out of surprise than anger.

"I could ask you the same thing," Reg retorted.

"I—I have business around here," Dominique stated. She didn't go announcing willy-nilly, anyway, that Sirius Black was still alive and—oh, yeah—her uncle by marriage.

Reg bit his bottom lip, just as Dominique had seen him do countless times before, but he looked more anxious than he'd ever been before.

"Reg, if you've got something to say, then please just say it."

"Do you know where Sirius Black is?"

The first thought that popped into Dom's head was the need to ask Reg why _he_ would think to ask her that. Then she thought that maybe this was a bad idea, a bad topic, just like his family was for him. Dominique licked her lips, for her mouth had gone dry, and she finally, slowly shook her head. "I…I can't say I do." Which was the truth, so she at least didn't feel bad lying to him.

Reg nodded, and his small smile reappeared on his face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with such a stupid question. We all know he's dead. Forgive me, Miss Weasley."

Dominique nodded, changing her plans on the spot. She would have to visit Aunt Ginny tomorrow. For now, Reg was with her, and she had to quell that blaze she saw in his eyes as soon as the name "Sirius Black" had left his mouth. "Always, Reg," she said as they left the Grimmauld neighborhood.

- ^-^3

**B) I like how mysterious this is getting. I mean, it's obvious to the readers who Reg is, but Dom doesn't know that! And if you're a Morghen fan (or Mor, *lol*), you should be catching little Easter eggs. I mean, the café's name? *LOL***

**Please review! Ch3 will be out soon!**

**-mew-tsubaki :}**


	3. The Past

**Because Love Stories Aren't Really Love Stories**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

- ^-^3

Part 3: The Past

Dominique walked up to the steps of Twelve Grimmauld Place the following week. She'd contacted Madame Maxime, for there was no way she could leave England right now. Madame Maxime had been slightly disgruntled, but she'd accepted Dominique's delay. Now Dom just hoped the delay had been worth it.

The door sounded hollow, echoing to Dominique her curiosities about Reg and his life and any possible ties to Sirius. It was horrible, waiting the whole minute before Aunt Ginny answered the door.

"Dominique!" Ginny looked shocked. "It's…well, it's been a while. What brings you here?"

Dom smiled. Fleur would always be her mother, but there was something about Ginny that always made Dominique think of her as another mother to her. Even now, being hugged by Ginny, Dominique thought of her as she did Fleur. "Nothing much."

Ginny eyed her niece. "Wait…aren't you supposed to…?"

"Be in France? Long story…"

"Please. I have time."

Dominique closed the door behind her and followed her aunt into the living room. "Uncle Sirius home?"

Ginny snorted. "Not right now. He's out, working in George's shop. I really wish my brother had not given him that job…"

The blonde giggled. "But Uncle Sirius taking that job allowed Uncle Ron to return to the Auror Office. And what better mind to pick than Uncle Sirius'? Uncles George and Fred idolized them—the Marauders' pranks will be infamous _past_ the end of time."

"Merlin, don't remind me!" Ginny waved her wand, and two glasses of water came flying out of the kitchen. Ginny sat down on one end of the couch and Dominique joined her, crossing her legs and facing her aunt. "So is Madame Maxime really okay with you coming late? Unless… She didn't take your internship away, did she?"

"Oh, no, no!" Dominique brushed the idea aside. "That would never happen—I think. No, I just… I'm not quite sure, actually. I suppose I wanted to clear my head a bit."

The redheaded witch quirked an eyebrow. "Something bothering you?"

"Not really…"

"Please don't ever lie for me, Dominique. You're terrible at it."

Dominique laughed. "Oh, Aunt Ginny…" She shook her head and swirled the water in her glass. "I…I kinda know this guy…"

"HA!" Ginny's outburst surprised Dominique with its loudness. But Ginny tried holding in her chuckles to no avail. "Oh, good Godric… So it's finally that time, eh? Almost nineteen and _now_ you're turning boy-crazy."

The younger woman gritted her teeth, her cheeks bright, _Expelliarmus_ red. "I am _not_ turning 'boy-crazy,' Aunt Ginny. And I came here with a serious thought in mind, I'll have you know."

Ginny's laughter subsided. "Ah…hmm." Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. "So you're serious about him, then?"

"_AUNT GINNY_!"

"Okay, okay…"

Dominique pouted. "I'm beginning to think you spend too much time with Uncle Sirius. I should tell Uncle George to give him more hours."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm listening now."

"Thank you." Dominique paused, wondering where to start. There was so much to tell even though Reg personally said so little. Eventually, Dominique decided to start at the best place—the beginning, with the Quidditch field. All the while, Dominique kept on eye on Ginny's inscrutable face, wondering what ran through her aunt's mind.

Dominique also thought of the circumstances that had led to Ginny marrying Sirius. The blonde didn't know _everything_—none of her generation did—but she knew enough.

Things had all started for Ginny and Sirius back at the end of the war. Ginny had met Sirius before, when the Order of the Phoenix had begun again, so it wasn't as though they were complete strangers. But it wasn't as though Ginny had felt as big a loss as Harry and some of the others, like Remus, when Sirius had been pushed through the veil by Bellatrix Lestrange's Stunning Spell. Ginny had liked Sirius fairly enough and cared about him, yes, but he hadn't been someone that _devastated_ Ginny when he'd gone.

Not like her brother, Fred, in that final battle in Hogwarts.

Personally, Dominique hated stories of the war. Everyone's mood turned sour at the sound of them, and for a family that had been hit by so much during those times, it was a struggle to bring them out of that funk whenever they sank into it. However, Dom didn't mind speaking of those times very much with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Sirius. Sometimes even Remus was an okay storyteller, but losing his wife in that fight made it occasionally grievous for him.

But at the end of the war, Harry mourned some and left the others to mourn the rest, and he visited the ministry with Kingsley Shacklebolt to see about reigning in the workers there. Of course, while there Harry had wandered to the Department of Mysteries, and his feet had led him to the veil. It was then that runes appeared on the doorway of the veil, and Harry had a glimmer of hope.

Uncle Harry knew nothing of runes, so Aunt Hermione had gone and deciphered them, revealing a curious thing…things lost behind the veil could be retrieved.

Numerous spells and countless hissy fits later, Harry and Hermione had all but given up. Harry angrily threw a Blasting Spell at the veil and _shattered_ it—and out fell one Sirius Orion Black. That had been the beginning.

From there, life went on as everyone had planned. Weasleys got married, families expanded, and jobs overtook lives. The worst case happened to be Harry's. Despite marrying Ginny and having three kids with her, Harry was not much of a father. Apparently you could take the wizard out of the conflict but not the conflict out of the wizard, therefore ensuring Harry would always throw himself back into the fray, worrying his family and asking his godfather to help his wife babysit the kids.

It wasn't a bad decision, asking Sirius to help, because Ginny and Sirius got along well. James, Al, and Lily loved Sirius, too, and they saw him more often than they did Harry. However, that meant they saw him more as their father than they did Harry. The rest of the family took notice.

Bill even called Charlie home so the two of them could talk to Harry about overworking himself. Charlie seemed like an especially good choice since he'd spent most of his life single because of his job in Romania, but he changed himself when he began dating Ginny's school fried, Miraphina Atherton. Though Miraphina worked with Charlie in Romania, it was not the same case for Harry, who just left Ginny at home when he went out every day to hunt down Dark Wizards as an Auror.

When threats from the two oldest didn't work, Percy and George tag teamed Harry. Percy reminded Harry of how bad it was for the family back when Percy had separated himself from them; he didn't want there to be fresh bad blood. George took up the argument from there, telling Harry that he wouldn't realize how good a thing he had until he lost it. By then, having Ron intervene was pointless, because Harry had already lost his good thing.

During the whole "inquisition," Ginny had grown closer to Sirius, who had long since fallen for her. James graduated, and Ginny decided then was the right time to make a clean break and a fresh start. Al and Lily were going to be out of Hogwarts not long after, so Ginny divorced Harry. Harry didn't bat an eye, signing the papers between cases. About half a year after, Ginny made her move, and it was a joke when—at a family gathering—Grandmam Molly and Grampa Arthur said they wished Ginny could find a man who treated her as well as Sirius did.

Ginny knew what she was doing when she married Sirius. Though it was not well-known that he was still alive, they knew that he had never been a criminal, and with a small ceremony officiated by the Minister for Magic himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt, there was nothing else stopping them. Dominique's cousins had been calling him "Dad" for a while, after all. And now Al and Lily were a few years out of Hogwarts and Uncle Sirius worked in Uncle George's shop, where the funniest joke Sirius heard on a daily basis was, "Wow! Has anyone ever told you that you look like Sirius Black?"

"It's an odd story," Ginny said, taking Dominique out of her reminiscing. "Has it occurred to you that this man—Reg, you said his name was—might be dangerous?"

Dominique dropped her hazel eyes to the floor. "Yes. A thousand times."

"So you've ignored your internal red flag, not told your parents, and continued to see him?"

"When you put it like that, yes, it sounds really bad." She looked at her aunt. "But he _hasn't_ raised any red flags, if that makes sense. And no, I haven't told my parents because Dad would use some Egyptian curse that he learned to break and Mom would be planning the wedding, considering she can't fathom a daughter of _hers_ going for so long without any boyfriends."

"Well, there was Lysander."

"Yeah, and it turned out he had a thing for wizards. Who knew Scorpius did, too?"

"Point taken."

The blonde witch sighed. "You've told me the same thing my conscience has."

"Then maybe you should listen to the both of us," Ginny gently nudged.

Dominique cupped her cheek and turned her mouth in towards her palm. Perhaps it had been a waste to ask Madame Maxime for another month at home. Of course, that could be easily remedied with another brief letter. But Dominique also wondered if she should throw in the towel after only a little over a month of knowing Reg. Dominique sighed; maybe it had been useless to visit when Uncle Sirius was not home.

"I already had lunch, but can I fix you something?" Ginny stood.

"No, it's all right." Dominique shook her head and got up. "I should probably get going."

"Dom, it's been a while since you've been here. You can stay, you know."

"I know." The younger witch smiled and hugged her aunt. "But I, uh, had plans with Rose today, so…"

"Oh, all right. Tell Rosie I say hi."

"Will do," Dominique replied, letting Ginny walk her to the door. She tied up her hair and paused with the door open. "I'll stop by again soon, maybe, when both of you are home and we can have a proper night together."

Ginny grinned. "I'll hold you to it."

Dominique waved goodbye and marched down the steps of their home as Twelve Grimmauld Place faded out of sight. She walked for a while, winding through the streets and eventually slowed outside a small, gated park. Someone was resting against the medium-height wall, and he turned to look at her. Unease filled Dominique. "Again, Reg?"

He neither frowned nor smiled. "I should apologize for my behavior the last time we met…"

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You scared me—"

"…but I won't." He shoved off the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking at Dominique. "Honestly, Miss Weasley, you won't even believe me if I tried explaining."

Her expression softened. "Try me," she prodded. Apparently the sliver of trust she'd earned was not much if he continued to—"

"My full name is Regulus Black. Dominique, I'm Sirius' brother."

She ignored his use of her first name and backed up, confusion morphing to anger. "That's not even funny."

"Sirius isn't dead, is he? I look like him, don't I?" he pushed. He took another step forward, looking hurt when she took another step back. "Please, believe me."

Dominique shook her head. She could believe Sirius being alive, but his brother? Whom she'd only ever heard of briefly from Uncle Sirius, Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione? It sounded more and more right to listen to her conscience; Aunt Ginny's warning sounded in her head, as well. But she hated to see that wounded look on his face. "I…should go."

Reg out to her. "Please, I just—"

She swatted his hand away. "Any other day, Reg, but not today." She Disapparated on the spot. Her stomach churned as she had not quite settled on a destination, but then another residence came to mind—the perfect place to get some answers.

- ^-^3

"Remus."

"Dominique. It's—"

"—been a while, yeah, yeah. Let's surpass all the greeting, can we?"

The werewolf stepped aside as the witch entered. He saw her pause and notice another pair of shoes inside the front door. "Lilu," he supplied, giving a nickname only he used.

Dominique nodded. "Am I interrupting?"

He blushed, and Dominique calmed down some at the sight. "No! Nothing of the sort. She's busy blowing up my kitchen."

"I thought Lily was good at making potions."

"Ones that already exist," Remus commented with annoyance in his voice. They went into the kitchen, where Lily Luna stood at a countertop cauldron, smudges of dirt on her cheeks. She looked up.

"Dom!"

"Hey, Lils." Dominique poked Remus in the arm. "I see you're keeping him on a tight leash."

"As if. He barely lets me kiss him on the bloody cheek!" Lily glared at him. "I told you _last_ year that I _loved_ you—"

Remus groaned.

"—and you've _barely_ come to accept it and I'm not allowed to _kiss_ you?"

"I think someone's in denial," Dominique said slyly. She winked encouragingly at her cousin. "Anyway…" She looked at Remus. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he said a little too quickly. His face was still red as they left the kitchen and went down the hall to his study. He probably felt Lily sticking her tongue out at his back. Remus closed the door behind them and glanced at Dominique. "So what's wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Dominique pursed her lips. "You were at Hogwarts when…Sirius' brother was."

Remus' eyes went wide. "Y-Yes, of course… That's a strange topic to bring up. But yes, Regulus was a year below us. He…" Remus sighed. "He and Sirius had been close when they were younger. But that quickly changed as we grew up." The wizard sat down as his desk. "Most of you know just a bit about him, that Regulus turned out to be a hero in death."

"Yes. Didn't he have something to do with one of the horcruxes?"

He nodded. "As Harry explained it to me, Regulus had turned against Voldemort in his last year or so and learned of the locket horcrux. He traveled to the caved and somehow managed to swap Salazar Slytherin's locket for a fake one. Regulus didn't know yet how to destroy a horcrux, but he had the real one. Voldemort was never the wiser."

Dominique chewed on her bottom lip and dropped into the chair by the bookcase on Remus' left. She hadn't known that Regulus had been so clever. And if he were clever enough to fool the Dark Lord, didn't that mean it was possible he were clever enough to fool Death? "Remus," she asked quietly, "is there any way he could've survived?"

Remus blinked, utterly shocked. "It'd be news to me. I can't possibly see how considering he had to drink poison to get the real locket. Besides, it's been so long… Dominique, why are you bringing this up?" He furrowed his brow, concerned.

"I think…Regulus _is_ alive." As much as she hated to say it, she couldn't really think of why he'd lie about something so serious. It was no laughing joke to claim to be someone's dead relative. She motioned to Remus. "Do you have a pensieve?"

"Only a small one, nothing as impressive as Dumbledore's," he answered, opening a cabinet behind him. A disc-like bowl floated out and landed on his desk.

Dominique concentrated on her memory of bumping into Reg twenty minutes ago. She pulled the memory from her temple with her wand and managed to successfully drop it in the pensieve; she felt good, considering she'd done it once in a stubborn and amazing show of magic at age thirteen to convince her parents that Louis had eaten the last of Victoire's birthday cake, not her. An image swirled around before floating to the surface, and Dominique pointed to it. "Could that be him?"

Remus looked at the man in the memory. "It could be, if he had stopped aging past his mid-thirties or so. But…" He studied the picture harder, and waited to get another look at it. "Dear Merlin, those gray eyes… Regulus Arcturus Black, in the flesh."

- ^-^3

**So, with Reg's identitiy somewhat confirmed, what happens now? Only character can tell… Who will be the bigger wizard? Who will let well enough alone? … Who's got some EXPLAINING to do? Xo**

**I have to say: Thank you so much for the reviews/favs/alerts! This story seems to have a small cult following, which is nice. I can assert that ch4 will not disappoint, though I'm looking forward most to writing ch5! In the meantime, please review!**

**A side note: 2 more M&MWPs found by me—Scorpius/Lysander and Remus/Lily Luna, so I'd appreciate credit for their use, thanks. :] (And before you comment about Remlilu, I'd like to point out that age DOESN'T mean the same thing for witches and wizards who can live for centuries—if it makes you feel better, know that Lilu is out of school and 18.)**

**Enjoying the Reg, Mor? ;D**

**-mew! :3**


	4. The Meeting

**Because Love Stories Aren't Really Love Stories**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

- ^-^3

Part 4: The Meeting

She had to wait a few days for her own temper to diffuse. But that didn't mean the tumult in her head and heart had simmered down one bit.

What was Dominique supposed to make of all of this? Was she just supposed to believe it all and still have a cup of tea with Reg? Was she supposed to hex him into yesteryear on the off chance he were some impersonator?

Was she supposed to fight her tears and continue to convince herself that she only _liked_ him?

Dominique asked Remus to say something to Sirius, figuring having his best mate informing him was the current best option. Remus told Dominique that it had not been easy. "This is dredging up skeletons—possibly real ones. Sirius…he's hurt."

"But Reg…he's hurt, too."

Remus gave her a stern look. "Stop calling him 'Reg,' Dominique. You can't trust him."

"That's what you guys thought originally, and then he was a hero when you learned what he had done."

"Over what he had done, yes, but not for his motives."

"You just don't know them yet!"

"And neither do you." Remus rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable. "The last place to be is between brothers, Dominique. If anything should be reconciled or such, then Sirius and Regulus have to do it—and _want_ it."

Dominique hadn't liked hearing that, and she disliked even more the feeling that Remus was as right as ever. More and more, Dominique wondered what kind of right mess she'd gotten herself into. Ginny wondered the same thing.

"Ginny left a message for you via ze Floo," Fleur told her daughter at home. "She and Sirius want to see you, Dominique." The part-Veela mother crinkled her brow. "Eez something ze matter?"

"No, no." Dominique sighed. She was really getting sick of people asking her that.

- ^-^3

Out in the tree from more than a month ago, Dominique glanced between the landscape and the area, trying to look for Reg without _looking_ as though she were searching for him.

Down on the ground, she heard light footfall when she wasn't looking. "I suspect you told the others."

"…Remus told him and my aunt."

"Lupin? I'm not that shocked both he and my brother are still alive. Sweet Salazar, those two are as thick as thieves… 'Aunt'?" he echoed. Reg appeared genuinely surprised. "My brother married?"

Dominique gave him a look.

"You still don't believe me, do you? Even though I knew whom you were talking about when you said 'Remus.'"

She grimaced, her face red.

Reg looked up into the tree. "Please, Miss Weasley. Come down."

"No. And I'm back to 'Miss Weasley,' am I?"

He sighed. "If you don't come down, I'll make you come down."

"Then make me."

"Better yet…" He gripped the lowest branch and heaved himself up until he was standing a little below her in the tree. He stared up at her. "I'll just come to you and you can't escape me."

Dominique glared at him. Her chest was tight as those gray eyes rested on her, and the welling of too many emotions was painful. "I don't know if I want to talk to you right now."

"Then I'll be quiet and stay here with you."

She turned away from him and looked out at the beach. "I want answers."

She could sense him nod beside her. "You know now who I am. I just won't give answers that I know Sirius deserves to hear first."

"Fair enough." Dominique turned back to him. "Are you evil?"

"Not anymore. Not for a long, long while." His eyes didn't flicker; he was being truthful.

"Does everything go back to the way it was before now, when you were just 'Reg' and I was 'Miss Weasley,' a girl who befriended you?"

"I don't see how it can, considering your involvement in my trying to talk to Sirius." Reg placed on a hand on Dominique's arms, which were crossed on her lap. "I…didn't really have any friends when I was young, Dominique. One Housemate called himself my best mate, and another girl tried getting close to me and gave up when I most needed someone on my side." He leaned his head against her upper arm. "Please, don't give up on me."

Dominique shied her arm away from his head, but she didn't shake his hand off. She wrung the hem of her shirt. "Why aren't you dead?" she blurted. "Why don't you look as old as Remus and Sirius?" Though, inside, she'd always felt the two Marauders didn't look very much like their age, anyway. She chocked it up to Sirius always laughing and Remus working with instead of against the vigor the wolf inside him possessed. "Why…" She hung her head, exhausted. "Why can't you just be _'Reg'_?"

He frowned. Reg watched her and brushed some hair out of her face, cupping her cheek. His hand looked at cold as ever…but his touch had its familiar warmth. "I'll tell you. I swear I will. But not until Sirius knows first."

"You don't have to tell me," she retorted. Her eyes were wet—just another thing to add to the list of things she hated right now!—as she glanced at him. "I'm just 'Miss Weasley.'"

Reg sighed. "Look, just—just get me some time with my brother, please."

Dominique eyed him. "When we met…that day when my brother was playing Quidditch…did you know who I was? Did you meet me on purpose, to find Sirius?"

"No," he stated simply. Again, his eyes told her he wasn't lying. "I didn't know anything until you gave me your surname that next time you saw me. I thought a Weasley had to be related to Potter's friend and wife—Potter, who was my brother's godson, one good piece of info I gleaned from my Death Eater days." Dominique gasped when he said "Death Eater." "Yes, my Death Eater days, a part of my past I would love to Obliviate, but a part of my past, nonetheless. A part of _me_. Now…I can make things right." Reg closed his eyes. "Help me see my brother. I swear, it's the last thing I'll ask of you. Then I'll leave you alone and I won't even be 'Reg' anymore. I won't be anyone to you."

The witch's heart skipped a beat. She was not sure he needed to resort to such drastic measures. "I'll—I'll ask him to talk with you."

"Thank you."

"But…," she drew out.

He raised an eyebrow. "I smell a condition coming."

"I have to be there. Sirius will be the first to know, and I'll be the second. I'll just be there at the same time."

Reg sighed for the umpteenth time. "…fine."

Dominique smiled, some of the weight in her chest gone. She removed one of her arms to cover his hand with hers. "But for now, just stop asking things of me and stay, okay?"

He gave her one of his rare smiles back. "I said I would, didn't I?"

- ^-^3

"This is a horrible joke," Sirius growled the following week when Dominique finally agreed to talk with her aunt and uncle.

"Sirius, calm down," Ginny said.

"No!" he barked. He wheeled on Dominique. "My _brother_, Regulus Arcturus Black, _alive_? You don't just pull that out of thin air! Didn't Bill and Fleur teach you not to lie?"

Dominique bit the inside of her mouth not to lash out. "I'm not lying."

"Right. Then you must've learned from Vic. She kept Neville a secret for how long?"

"_Sirius_!" Ginny yelled. She fixed him with a Grandmam Weasley-grade glare. "Sit. Down. _Now_." She waited until her husband at least stopped pacing before facing Dominique again. "Remus…"

"He saw my memory. I put it in the pensieve, he was pretty convinced Reg was Regulus, and I had him tell you because I've my own conflicts. Okay?"

Ginny frowned. "This is _that_ Reg? The one you've been seeing?"

Sirius fell into his chair. "Oh my bloody Merlin! Seriously?"

Dominique blushed. "I haven't been _seeing_ him, Uncle Sirius. I've been hanging out with him. A stranger who kind of became a friend, that's all. And may I remind you that I am a grown witch who's going to study under Madame Maxime to become the next headmistress of Beauxbatons?"

"Then why aren't you _there_?" he quietly sniped.

She knew he wasn't unleashing cold fury. Sirius was stressing out over Regulus, unnerved by Dominique's relation to Regulus, and probably worrying that this man was a fraud.

"How can we be sure it's…_him_…?" the Animagus asked. "You didn't know him. And Rem was _pretty_ sure it was him—that's not _sure_-sure."

"He knew Remus' last name without me giving it away."

"So maybe he went to school at the same time as us."

Dominique huffed. "Instead of being a jerk, Uncle Sirius, why don't you try to have an open mind?"

He gave her a reluctant look. "Dom, when you've faced as many baddies and torments as I have, _then_ come talk to me."

She froze. That gave her an opening. "Why not talk to the man in question yourself?"

Sirius and Ginny stared at her. "Beg pardon?" he spluttered.

"Give him what he wants. Meet with him. In fact, bring Aunt Ginny and both of you bring your wands along. I'll have mine along, too—"

"Absolutely not!" This time, the unrest came from Ginny. "Dominique, if this blows up in our faces, then we can't risk you, too. Bill and Fleur wouldn't forgive me. _I_ wouldn't forgive _myself_!"

Dominique shook her head. "When are you two gonna get it through your thick heads that—that I trust him?" She hadn't been expecting to say it, but Dominique had been thinking and feeling it for a while now. Despite all the ups and downs with Reg, she trusted him. She knew she did. She knew that, when she looked into those gray eyes, Reg was the only person in the world who might tell her the truth if—if—if something were even stuck in her teeth! Okay, so it was a stupid example, but Dom had learned that family and best friends couldn't necessarily be trusted to tell you something as awful as that.

Sirius sighed, and Dominique was reminded of Reg. There gestures were so similar, it was hard _not_ to see them as brothers. "When?"

Ginny turned on him and Dominique grinned.

- ^-^3

"Hogwarts—it still stands."

"Something like that." Dominique walked carefully with Reg at her side. They were walking like an average couple up High Street, complete with Reg's hand resting comfortably on her waist. Despite Dominique's nervousness at their current position, no one else seemed to think anything was amiss. They were blending in fine.

Reg gave her waist a squeeze. "Thank you…very much, Dominique. I cannot repay you."

"Heh… Save it for after you and Uncle Sirius hash it out."

"And he's fine with you being there?"

"Well…I said he could invite his wife along."

Reg halfheartedly nodded. "I can understand why. By the way, your aunt…"

"Harry Potter's ex," Dominique offered. "It's a long story," she added when he gave her an amazed and amused expression.

"Haven't you realized by now? I'm well-versed with long stories." He hugged her a little tighter to him, but she understood it was more from nerves than affection. He knew that this meeting could go up in flame.

They entered the Three Broomsticks and Madam Rosmerta, who was finally starting to show a tinge of gray, saw her. "Oi, Weasley. Your other set of parents is up the stairs, first door on the right."

Dominique chuckled. "They're not my second set of parents."

Rosmerta grinned. "You're a Weasley. You've at least six or seven if I count extended family." Then she saw Reg. "Can I, uh, get anything for you and your companion?"

"Butterbeer, thanks. Let me take them up." Dominique grabbed the drinks from the barmaid and then ushered Reg up the rickety steps. "Do you think she recognized you?"

"Doubtful," Reg whispered. "I barely came here even when I could from third year on."

Dominique inwardly released a little sigh of relief. She knocked thrice on the door Rosmerta mentioned, and Ginny let them in. "Aunt Ginny, Uncle Sirius. Reg." She gestured to him and put their drinks down, whilst the others just stood there, staring at each other.

Sirius was the first to act. Dominique and Ginny both put their hands on their wand hilts when Sirius stalked towards Reg, but he merely stood face-to-face with him. Reg stuck out his hand, relief lightening his features and vanquishing his gauntness. Sirius took it and shook before drawing Reg into a breathless hug. "Good Godric—! _Regulus_…!"

Regulus was stunned, but he eventually moved his arms around his brother and embraced him back. "Sirius…!"

The older Black brother broke of the connection and held Regulus at arm's length. "Well! Look at you…" Then his right fist connected with Regulus' jaw.

- ^-^3

**A nice little cliffie, complete with Sirius' overreaction. Now we move to my favorite part—ch5! And things will heat up between Dom and Reg soon, too… Aww… I love them. They have a nice connection. :] Oh, man, I just can't wait to write the last three chappies! Xo**

**Please review! You know you're stunned that Regulus is alive!**

**And yes, Morghen, I was thinking of two specific people that Reggie mentioned earlier—the "Housemate" and the girl. ;]**

**-mew! :O**


	5. The Excuse

**Because Love Stories Aren't Really Love Stories**

A HariPo fanfiction

by mew-tsubaki

- ^-^3

Part 5: The Excuse

Regulus stumbled into Dominique, who caught him, but he was heavier than she could manage, and she faltered, landing on her arse. He winced and rolled over in her arms, trying to get steady enough to get up. "Ow…"

Ginny thwacked her husband upside the head. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?"

"_Everything_!" Sirius hissed. He couldn't tear his eyes off his brother—until Ginny hit him in the arm and forced him to look at her. "Ow! Okay, okay, luv…"

Dominique helped Regulus up and glared at her uncle. "What the hell? He didn't deserve—"

Regulus gripped her shoulder and shook his head. "No, Dominique, he's right. I deserved that, and probably a million more." He stood up and looked Sirius in the eye again. "Brother."

Sirius stopped huffing and stared back. "Brother."

"So you're _the_ Regulus Arcturus Black?" Ginny asked.

"I am."'

Sirius looked at him. "Then answer one question: Fifth year, Gryffindor party. My best mate had firewhiskey—what did he do?"

"Your best of your three best mates, James Potter, got touchy-feely with me when I came to finish an argument you and I had had earlier in the day. He walked off with me after parading me around the room with his arm around my shoulders."

"Ah. Nice. But everyone knew James was my best mate."

"He snogged me in the broom closet near the Astronomy Tower and swore he'd curse me if I told Lily when he sobered up." Regulus raised one eyebrow.

Sirius paled. "I thought James told only me and Remmy about that."

"Then only the real Regulus would know."

Sirius sat down in a chair. Ginny glanced at her niece and then went over and rubbed circles on her husband's back. "What about Regulus' wand?" Sirius continued.

"My wand is right here," Regulus stated. He took the stick out and passed it to Sirius, but the latter only waved it away.

"No, no, I'd recognize it anywhere. I remember going to Ollivander's with you that day." Sirius sighed, and the others settled down. Ginny sat on the arm of Sirius' chair, and Dominique and Regulus seated themselves in the couch in front of the other two. Sirius picked his head up. "How…? After all this time, how? Harry said that Kreacher said you died."

Regulus knit his brow together. "That reminds me—I should tell Kreacher, too."

"You can't," Ginny stated. "Kreacher passed on a decade ago."

Regulus' face fell, and Dominique felt him grip her hand. "Oh. How?"

"He wouldn't listen to me, still considered me a blood-traitor, and Harry and Sirius weren't home to tell him off. But he moved an old piece of furniture, one he said was your mother's favorite, and it crushed him. He couldn't move it physically, but his magic was weak from age, and it fell on him."

"Oh."

"Reg," Sirius said. "How are you still alive?"

"I cheated death. You?"

"Like brother, like brother. Same here. Though being pushed into the veil thanks to our lovely cousin Bella's Stunning Spell was no fun."

"She's dead, isn't she? Her name wasn't in the paper for arrests after the war."

Ginny raised her hand. "That was courtesy my mother."

Regulus gave Sirius a look. "Well. We've both made our beds, then, haven't we?"

"Reg," Dominique said, tugging on his arm. She'd felt him tense, and she knew that tension well. He was ready to either answer everything in questions…or dash.

"C'mon. The real story," Sirius elaborated.

Regulus leaned back and tilted his head back. He stared at the ceiling for a long while. Dominique looked back and forth between her aunt and uncle and him. It felt like forever before he finally said, "Kreacher…didn't know everything."

Dominique opened her butterbeer as Regulus cleared his throat. She was sure they'd be here for a while. By the looks of it, the others had thought the same thing. The blonde witch just wondered what would happen when all the tales were told.

"When I found out You-Know-Who was possible of being killed, I was…ecstatic. I thought it was a little hard to believe, but the way he kept Nagini close to him, the way he hid things in places only he knew, the way he visited the cave on occasion to check the locket's safety—it all added up. He _feared_ something. He feared death.

My visit to the cave was the closest I could make him to come to fear me. I took Kreacher with me, I drank the poison, I took the locket, and then I failed miserably at trying to destroy it. I panicked. I hadn't thought that far ahead. I didn't know that, among all the hexes, curses, and jinxes I knew, none of them would work. I couldn't even comprehend what _would_ destroy such a powerful item of Dark Magic. So I gave the locket to Kreacher and told him to hide it and leave. He didn't want to, but I didn't want him there when You-Know-Who arrived. And I knew he would; he wasn't the type to have a hideout that didn't alert him of disturbances." Regulus paused and took the other butterbeer from Dominique.

"You don't have to be afraid of the name," Ginny pointed out. "He's long gone. I saw him die with my own two eyes."

"Ma'am, when you've seen the horrors I have, you will always be afraid of the name." Regulus resumed his story: "Kreacher did leave me and I waited. The poison potion was already starting to wear me down, but I used the opportunity to put a fake locket in place of the real one and get a better handle on my surroundings. It wasn't just any cave. The ceiling was high and the only light came from my wand; the room was meant to disorient strangers. The water was no less intimidating. The boat that had ferried us across to the island with the locket had actually separated us from Inferi. Their eyes were lifeless, their bodies, corpses come to life. I remember looking at them and thinking that I'd be one of them soon."

"Inferi?" Sirius echoed. He shook his head. "Harry never told me much about that night he and Dumbledore ventured there."

Ginny grimaced. "He never told me either. But I bet Ron and Hermione know," she added, and Sirius nodded.

"Do you want me story or not?" the younger Black son asked.

"Of course," Sirius said.

"I hid when he arrived," Regulus continued. He got up and paced the room—perhaps to calm his nerves from reliving the memory, Dominique thought. "He was happy to play with someone. It was obvious that he hadn't realized his horcrux wasn't there anymore, otherwise he likely would've just brought the whole place down. But he knew it was me that had been sneaking around. After all, how many Death Eaters did research? Other than Snape, that is." He paused at the mantle above the fireplace in the room and crossed his arms. "He threw spells at me, including ones I'd never even heard before. I had a hell of a time dodging and deflecting them and I knew I couldn't evade him for long. I tried uselessly throwing some spells back, but… Well, you both know what that's like," he said to Ginny and Sirius. "The spells lit up the cave and the water, and I got an idea in my head. I knew I might leave there alive then.

I distracted him with a Blasting Curse, which targeted the ceiling over his head. The rocks came down and I dove into the water. The Inferi came after me immediately and I almost didn't make it back to the shore. One of them latched onto my leg, incredibly persistent, and I Petrified it and then burned it to a crisp. I then shot a jet of water at You-Know-Who—and it had the desired effect.

You-Know-Who was one for the phrase 'fight fire with fire.' Not only was he looking to dry himself off, but he was looking to flambé me, as well. He automatically cast Incendio and it was the most powerful version I'd ever seen of it. He scorched the cave and meant to scorch me, but I switched places with the Inferi as he couldn't see past his incantation. He seemed satisfied that it was a job well done and he left, briefly pausing to check on the locket. With him out of the way, I staggered out of there, fully weakened by the potion."

"He was skilled at potions as well as magic, though, wasn't he?" Dominique asked. She looked at each of them in turn. "Old Slughorn is still kicking, and he sometimes tells his classes it used to scare him, Tom Riddle making potions on Slughorn's level."

Regulus grimly smiled. "Slug's right. That potion wreaked havoc on my body. Dumbledore wasn't around long enough for the potion to take its full effect, though." He traced the wood grain of the mantle before dropping his eyes to the ground. He looked out the window then, at something that was not there. "That potion not only poisoned me, but it slowed my aging and growth. I'm sure You-Know-Who's intent was that whoever drank it was going to suffer a long, painful agony only to wish for death. The potion…" He shook his head. "The poison spread throughout my body, and I felt as though I were eighteen, nineteen, twenty forever… I lived with the poison inside of me for twenty years. But then…_she_ healed me."

Dominique's face warmed at how Regulus had said "she." By the tone of his voice, there was no doubt that "she" had meant a great deal to him, even if for a short while. The Weasley stared at the bottle in her hands and focused on Regulus' words.

"You might remember her, Sirius. My Ravenclaw…friend," he stated, almost using the term lightly.

Sirius blinked in realization. "…oh. Yes, I do. How—how is she?"

Regulus' grim smile grew sad. "I'll get to that in a moment." He cleared his throat. "I wandered the world with the poison in me before coming back to England. I'd been keeping tabs; I knew what was going on. Potter and Evans' kid, the Boy-Who-Lived, kept besting You-Know-Who, who was back. But not everyone threw out their old _Prophets_, so I went to claim one off someone's stoop. Little did I know that the witch to whom the house and newspaper belonged was someone I knew very well."

He shook his head. "She thought she was seeing a ghost. The first thing she did was hit me to make sure I was real, then…" He let his words trail off and he pursed his lips. "She made me tell her what had happened," Regulus said, dropping what Dominique was certain was part of the story, "and when she heard about the poison and took a good look at me, she was determined to fix me." He quietly, softly chuckled. "She tore through all the books she had, and she didn't stop until she was satisfied. Meanwhile, I stayed with her and she took care of me. She took good care of me. Then…she found what she was looking for."

The storyteller stopped there. He drummed his fingers on the windowsill. "She informed me that this poison potion would eventually kill me…unless someone else carried my burden."

Ginny gasped. Dominique knew her uncle had caught on, too.

"She said that she'd extract the potion little-by-little and take it into herself. I did not _like_ that idea," Regulus said gruffly, "but she was as pigheaded as ever when she got the idea in her mind. So in sessions she took the poison for me. I got better and she fell ill. She looked more and more horrible until we were certain it was all gone from me…and all in her." His face was stony. "But the poison worked fast on her. It aged her all the years that had been added to my life and she was gone within a few months. All the insanity I'd been fighting for years, she faced in weeks."

Silence filled the room. "I'm…sorry," Sirius whispered.

A name was dancing on Regulus' lips: "…Aaralyn…" He shut his eyes for a minute and then spoke. "I'm comforted only by the thought that she didn't spend more than a year with it in her system. I won't forget what she did for me."

Sirius looked at his brother. "But if that was years ago…"

Regulus nodded in apology. "I took a long while to heal, even without the poison. So I sat on the sidelines, healing and watching the times change… My life consisted of headlines: 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Defeated.' 'Boy-Who-Lives Now Boy-Who-Won.' 'All Right In Wizarding World As Harry Potter Leads Auror Office.'" He stared back at Sirius. "I decided I had one thing left to do to be fully healed, to have real peace-of-mind: To give you the truth. I knew the error of my ways; it's why I turned on You-Know-Who. But, if you were still alive… If only James and Pettigrew were the dead Marauders… I would find you and tell you. I wandered around Grimmauld Place, but I couldn't find it anymore."

"It was because of the Fidelius Charm. The magic on the house faded when Dumbledore died, but when Harry rescued me," Sirius explained, "I resumed living there and we decided that since not everyone has approved of my innocence, we should cast it again."

"Who knows?"

"Just family. Remus and his son, Teddy."

Regulus raised an eyebrow. "A son?"

"Nymphadora had a Metamorphmagus baby with him before she died in the war, killed by Dolohov."

"Oh." They let an odd beat pass. "You do realize—"

"—that by telling you I've just included you?" Sirius' grin was brittle, but it was a grin, nonetheless. "I told you, Reg. Just family."

Reg stared at him long and hard. His eyes were wet and he walked back to Sirius. "I'm sorry I didn't try to find you sooner."

"It's—it's understandable," Sirius choked. "But…" He frowned. "It doesn't mean I can forget everything you've done. I feel sorry for you, I do, and I've missed you. Even when I told James and Remus that I hated you, I was lying to myself. You were still my brother. You still are my brother."

"But."

"But…" The Animagus shook his head. "But a lot has changed. And you're another change. This will take a long time to get used to."

Regulus nodded. "Sirius…"

"Yeah?"

"I'll wait for as long as I have to for your forgiveness."

Sirius let out a slow breath. "Reg…welcome home."

Regulus gave him a brief, halfhearted smile and returned to Dominique to claim his drink. He looked at her, and she understood. Everyone, certainly the two brothers, had had plenty of drama for one day. Dominique got up and hugged her aunt and kissed her uncle's cheek. "I'll see you two later," she said. She waved goodbye to them and hurried after Regulus out of the Three Broomsticks.

She caught up to him halfway up High Street. "Thank you, Dominique."

"I didn't do much," Dominique said, touching his arm. "I just… Well, maybe family is as important as my parents and aunts and uncles believe it to be. Love isn't so silly after all."

Regulus removed her hand from his arm and placed it in his own hand, entwining their fingers as they strolled out of Hogsmeade. "It isn't silly," he agreed. He gave her hand a squeeze and tugged her closer to him, and they remained like that for the rest of their outing.

- ^-^3

**I like creating theories for characters' motives and such, but I'd also like to remind my readers that people aren't dead or alive willy-nilly. Some people were casualties of war, while others survived and some didn't—but this story is AU. Alternate universe. An alternate universe where 2 brothers have been given the chance to reconcile, and one girl realizes there's more to life than good marks and a nice job. Just keep that in mind and enjoy the story. Thank you.**

**Lordy… I was happy to include ****Morghen****'s OC (whom I have exclusive permission to use!), Aaralyn. She originated in Mor's fic, **_**It Doesn't Really Matter**_**, and I still adore Aaralyn. It was why I had to have her here, though I wasn't expecting her to die a hero's death…it was just a tragedy pouring from my finger tips. I can only hope you approve, Mor! Xo**

**So please review! Reality will hit in the next chapter! :+**

**-mew! :S**


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